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Rebecca Rusch checks in from Utah

posted by id* at 03:39 PM on August 29, 2008

American Mountain Classic, Brianhead Utah

August 2008

Last weekend, I was summoned by Specialized to attend a brand new stage race in Utah. I had heard about the event earlier in the year, but had not committed to attending. It boasted 160 miles of racing over 4 days at 10,000 feet and higher. It also had a great prize purse for both open men and women and was rumored to be some of the most spectacular single track racing you could find. Specialized signed on as a sponsor, so I decided to head down there for the weekend to check it out. Since my plans were so last minute, I had to drive from Idaho alone and was behind the curve in planning for lodging and logistics. I had sent a few emails to some pro friends to try to mooch some floor space. I ended up getting connected with Jenny Smith from the Trek racing team. She had organized a cabin rental for 6 of the Trek athletes and agreed to let me squeeze into their team house. As I was driving from Idaho alone, I was a bit apprehensive about traveling alone, staying with relative strangers and not having any of my usual friends to hang out with. My insecurities evaporated as soon as I arrived at the cabin. The whole crew was piled around the TV drinking beer and watching Olympic track and field events. The house was stacked full with Trek bikes, Trek uniforms and Trek athletes. I rolled my Specialized Epic into the mix and made myself at home on the hide-a-bed. My new housemates consisted of a relative who’s who in pro mountain biking and Xterra racing. I would be spending the weekend with Jeremiah Bishop (aka JB), Lea Davidson, Kelly Magelky, Jenny Smith and Brian Smith. Fellow Specialized rider and Xterra World Champion, Conrad Stoltz also turned up to support his fiancée Amber Monforte. It was a house full of pros who specialized in everything from short track to XTerra to 24 hour solo racing. Everyone in that house was trying to make a living by riding a bike.

It was an enlightening experience for me to see that we are not all that different. I am a relative newbie to the pro cycling scene, so there is still a bit of an aura around these racers who’ve been doing this for years. Over the course of the four days, I got to witness the eating habits, recovery strategies, bike maintenance and pre-race rituals of all of these pros. What I quickly discovered is that we are cut from generally the same mold. Pros or not, we are all just cyclists trying to go as fast as we can and have a good time while we’re at it. Pretty much everyone traveled with a foam roller and other stretching devices. Even the seasoned pros forgot to bring extra tubes and tools or showed up with their bikes in less than perfect condition. Despite the perceived glamorous lifestlye, the pros still had to do their own laundry and wash their own bikes. There was a lot of sharing of food, tools, Tiger Balm and crash stories after each day of racing. There was also plenty of nervous pacing and fidgeting in the early hours of the morning before the starts. After each race stage, there was a flurry of eating in the kitchen, washing bikes, talking trail and eventually going to river to ice down our legs and try to elicit a faster recovery for the next day’s stage. One of the highlights of the weekend was the crowd gathered around a computer screen to watch the live coverage of the women’s Olympic mountain bike race. There was no commentary online, but I got the best personalized commentary from my housemates. I did not set the world on fire with my race times, but I had a consistent result in a really tough pro field More importantly, I did make a bunch of new friends, rode over 100 miles of fresh trail and had a great time. Thanks to the Utah Specialized guys for making me feel like a princess and taking care of my bike each night! Their tech support and moral support on the race course was crucial! Thanks to RedBull for giving me a bit more motivation when I needed it.

My housemates fared well in the race. Jeremiah Bishop won the men’s overall with just a 6.5 second lead after 4 days of racing. Each day for him ended in a sprint to the finish. Brian Smith was 5th overall moving up two spot on the last stage to get on the podium. Kelly Magelky, 24 hour specialist, turned in a solid race and placed 7th in a very stacked field. Jenny Smith had a great race and finished 2nd overall. Lea Davidson won a stage and finished 3rd overall. I was 7th and am motivated to come back and improve on that placing next year.

Following are my thoughts and race reports from each of the stages.

Thanks for tuning in.

Rebecca Rusch

Stage 1, American Mountain Classic, Brianhead Utah

Today was the 6 mile prologue stage of the race. It was a short, technical loop that will not count in the overall classification. It was just used to sort out the start positions for tomorrow’s stage. Lea Davidson and Jeremiah Bishop won the pro men’s and women’s field. I finished 7th with a respectable time, and placed high enough to line up in the front row for the pro women tomorrow. This is really the first hard effort I’ve done since winning 24 Hour Worlds three weeks ago and the legs definitely still feel a little sluggish. For the first year of this race, the pro roster is completely stacked. The variety of talent ranges from short track specialists to 24 hour specialists, so it will be interesting to see how the overall classification changes as the days and miles pile up. The real meat of this race are the next three days. Today was really just a warm up and a good way to see who the competition is. The remaining three stages boast mileages of about 55 miles each and approximately 5000 ft. of elevation gain per day over technical single track terrain. We are up around 10,000 ft at the Base of Brianhead ski resort and there is nowhere to go but up. Altitude will be a big factor and also the endurance to stay sharp for three hard days in a row.

Stage 2, American Mountain Classic, Brianhead Utah

Today was a 58 mile stage with over 30 miles of technical single track. There was a fantastic amount of climbing and the altitude felt oppressive. The course today was absolutely fabulous with stellar views and some of the best riding I’ve ever done. We were on the Virgin Rim trail for much of the race with views of Utah rock everywhere. I felt very average today and was struggling to keep contact with some of the other women. At about mile #25 I lost touch with a couple of the women that I was riding with. For the remainder of the race, I was out in no man’s land with no other riders around me. It was a struggle to keep focused and I did not feel very strong. However, when I came across the finish line, I was pleasantly surprised to see all of the women in front of me still milling around the finish line. I finished 7th again today, but found out that 4th-7th place all finished within 5 minutes. The order also completely changed around with some of the short track specialists falling back in the field with nearly 5 hours of riding. My mood was boosted to find out that even on a very average day, I was still able to stay in the hunt for a top 5 position. Tomorrow is around 60 miles with about 5000 ft. of climbing again. This time, there is less technical riding, but we reach a high point on the course of 11,200ft. It should be another nearly 5 hours of riding and after a long day in the saddle, I’m sure everyone will be felling the affects.

Stage 3, American Mountain Classic

Today was the day I was going to make my big move up in the rankings. We started with a 6 mile climb and I was feeling great. My legs and lungs felt a lot better than yesterday and was comfortably sitting in 5th without too much effort. Around mile 20, I felt really strong and then heard a horrible hissing sound. This race has been absolutely full of flats for a lot of racers. The terrain here is a mixture of sharp volcanic rock, shale pieces and baby heads pretty much everywhere. I had torn a sidewall and ended up struggling with tire issues for most of the day. I repaired the tear and put a tube in and watched as 3 women passed me. After the repair, I tried to ride a bit more conservatively on the downhills and hammer on the uphills in order to make up time. Unfortunately, I kept losing air in my rear tire and had to stop a few times to add more air. About mile 40, I flatted again and had to take time for another change. The frustrating part is that I was feeling super strong today and felt like the course really suited me. In the end, I came across the line in 8th and was still just 10 minutes away from 4th, even with my mechanicals. I worked super hard to try to make up the deficit and spent myself completely. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. They have not been posting the overall rankings, so I am not sure where I stand in the GC. By my estimation, my overall time is now about 15 minutes out of the top five rankings. Tomorrow is the last stage and reportedly the hardest. It is two 25 mile laps on the National cross country course. It is the most technical day and has the most climbing of any of the stages. At least four of the pro XC racers here have raced on this course multiple times, so they will be in familiar territory. Trying to make up 15 minutes to work back into the top five is a pretty big gap to try to overcome. However, with the amount of flat tires that have been happening, I’ll just hammer hard and see how it comes out in the end

Stage 4, American Mountain Classic

Today was rumored to be the hardest stage of the whole race. It’s the most technical and offers the most climbing. The 48 mile profile is slightly less mileage than the previous days, but the race director is estimating longer finishing times than the previous days. I was sitting in 8th place and 15 minutes out of a top five finish. This is disappointing for me, but some races just don’t go as planned. I started today’s stage with the goal of finishing strong and riding consistent times for the two identical laps. The lap started with a 5 mile road climb and it was the perfect warm up and spread the riders into a good position before entering the single track. This course is the same one used for the USA cycling national XC race, so I was slightly anxious after hearing stories of the technical terrain from the pro XC women. I figured I might lose time on the technical downhills, so I put in hard efforts on all of the climbs to cut my losses. It turned out to be an awesome course and was definitely very heads up on some of the descents. After finishing the first lap, I was in 7th overall and closing in on 6th. I felt more confident on the 2nd lap since I knew the terrain and could predict what was coming up. The Specialized guys were sponsoring the race and had set up neutral support for all of the racers at various aid stations each day. They were complete pros handing me bottles and dialing in my bike after each stage. As I passed them at the start of the 2nd lap, I could tell they were having a blast being part of this event. My 2nd lap was really strong and I was having a great time on the single track. I felt more like myself and was able to ride strong on the hills and hold my own on the descents. The 2nd time through the difficult Dark Hollow descent, I was able to ride the whole thing and come through unscathed and without any flats. I finished the day in 6th and had put 12 minutes on the 7th place woman in the 2nd lap. I was just 3 minutes out of 5th that day and felt I’d redeemed myself a bit. I still remained in 7th overall for the general classification. I had hoped to make the top five, but just didn’t have that in me this weekend. This race was a last minute addition to my schedule, so I must say I was not completely prepared for it. Next year, I’m definitely coming back and will be focusing on a podium spot.

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